


Ghosts In Their Eyes

by ObsidianJade



Category: Cars (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Ghosts, Paranormal, Stand Alone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-08 11:34:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16428596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObsidianJade/pseuds/ObsidianJade
Summary: “Great, I can see the tabloid headlines now.  'Lightning McScreamQueen claims ghost of Dale Senior still haunts Daytona!’ ”Doc’s raised eyebrow lost none of its sarcasm for being transparent.  “He does.  Would you like me to tell him you said hello?”(a series of shorts centered on one premise: 'What if [character] could see ghosts?)Not connected to my All Hallowed series.





	1. Lightning

**Author's Note:**

> Author disclaims any ownership of copyrighted material and makes no profit from this work. 
> 
> Author is also just glad to be writing again, because, what the hell, Muses, also what the hell Real Life, neither of you have been cooperating. At all.
> 
> All of these are shorts, not edited, and the entire thing was written in under two hours. I'll correct typos as I find them.

Nobody had ever managed to quite figure out the real reason Lightning refused to get a new crew chief. 

A lot of phrases like ‘respecting Doc’s memory’ and ‘honoring their bond’ got tossed around, but Lightning knew that there weren’t many people that saw what he saw - the figure of the old Hudson Hornet, still occupying the Crew Chief’s position, like nothing had ever changed.

He forgot things _had_ changed, sometimes, which lead to occasional embarrassment. Not only was Lightning among the few that could _see_ Doc, he was also one of the few who could _hear_ him. A number that he had long ago discovered did not include his pit crew, almost anyone else’s pit crew, or the great majority of his competition.

Which, for the record, made it _really awkward_ when he forgot himself and responded to Doc’s snarking aloud.

“Great, I can see the tabloid headlines now,” he groaned, sinking down until his suspension brushed the floor of the trailer. “Lightning McScreamQueen claims ghost of Dale Senior still haunts Daytona!’ ”

The reference to Senior had been Junior’s, not Lightning’s, and made only as an aside, but when one racer made an unfortunate habit of talking to thin air where the press - and certain, vicious-rumor-spreading members of his competition - could hear, the press was unlikely to care that much.

Doc’s raised eyebrow lost none of its sarcasm for being transparent. “He does. Would you like me to tell him you said hello?”

Lightning blinked a few times in surprise, not entirely certain Doc was serious. “.....no? I mean, thank you, but I’m sure if he wants to talk to me, he can find me.”

“You don’t want to talk to him?”

Lightning glanced up, the first hint of a smile flickering across his bumper. “The only dead racing legend I really want to talk to is already in here with me.”

Try as he might, Doc couldn’t help his own smile. “You know I wouldn’t leave you, kid.”


	2. She

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [See end notes for characters and warning on non-canonical character death]

She still said hello to him every morning.

It worried the other members of the town, she knew. Their whispers and murmurs when her bumper was turned had gone from how strong she was, how well she was coping, to questions of whether she was coping _too_ well, why she hadn’t grieved as the rest of them had.

The whispers and murmurs from those who weren’t part of the town were much harsher in their assessments, wondering if she’d ever truly cared about him, if she’d only ever been with him for his fame and wealth, didn’t she care at all that he was gone? Didn’t she grieve along with the rest of the world, for the loss of a racing legend?

She did grieve the loss, but not of the racing legend that the world had known.

She grieved the loss of quiet drives on Tuesday afternoons, of lazy Wednesday mornings spent alone together, before he left for the next race, the next, the next. She mourned for the car she had known, not the legend they had lost.

He never left her, now, but... death brought change. She'd fallen in love with the bright flash of personality that suited the name, and all that remained was an echo, barely more than a spark. 

But she still said hello to him every morning, a quiet whisper to the silent shade lurking in the corner of her office. “Hey, Stickers. Miss you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [SPOILER: This one is a Cars 3 AU where Lightning does not survive his crash. Characters Lightning/Sally.]


	3. Sarge

It always surprised him that it wasn’t Fillmore who could see them. 

There had never been too many of his old buddies from the war hanging around before - his life hadn’t been that interesting, evidently. Even to the dead. 

It might have insulted him if it hadn’t been so damn funny. But those nights of sitting with Fillmore, watching the traffic light blink and listening to Addar, Wiles, and Mulcahy debating the blink frequency over an oblivious Fillmore’s roof - it was hard not to laugh. 

At least when those three idiots got crazy enough to crack his composure, he could claim he was laughing at Fillmore. 

They were around more, now, with the town more active. He could spot Dawes and Tipp and Burns and Holcamp now, too, poking their hoods into the businesses on Main Street, the old ones now thriving and the new ones that were gradually opening as the town came back to life.

He settled in at his usual place, Fillmore by his side and the stoplight blinking quietly above them, Addar and Pierce to either side of them as the others lurked, appearing and disappearing through walls and windows as they explored.

Sarge smiled, content, and let the voices wash over him. This was life. This was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Yes, I did pull a couple of names from M*A*S*H. The rest I pulled out of my head.)


	4. Fillmore

It made sense, he guessed. As much as anyone being able to see past the physical realm to the tethered spirits that lurked beyond their plane of existence _could_ make sense.

He wasn’t sure why it was him. Maybe he’d blown the walls of his mind open experimenting with fuel mixes when he was younger, like Sarge suggested. Maybe it was a family talent. Maybe he was just lucky. 

Or weird. Either one worked. 

Either way, he could see the citizens of the town that no-one else could. 

Stanley, still here after all these years, watching contentedly as Radiator Springs came back to life. 

Doc, smiling proudly as Lightning circled the track at Willey’s Butte, dust billowing in his wake as the numbers on Sheriff’s speed board flashed higher and higher. 

That was really why he volunteered as docent for the Racing Museum more than anyone else, even with the Taste-In to run. It wasn’t just the history of racing, after all - it was the history of Radiator Springs. And of everyone in the town, he was the one who could best see its history still among them.


	5. Lizzie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Warning for non-canonical character death]

They thought she was crazy, she knew that. But she was old enough that she could just be the crazy old lady, and nobody minded too much when she sat on her porch and talked to her husband, even though he’d been dead for...

She didn’t remember how long, now. Did it matter, when they were still together? 

Lately, seeing her talking to Stanley seemed to make the other residents sad, though. They would stare at her porch as they drove by and turn away as soon as she met their eyes, all except for poor Red, who wouldn’t look at her porch at all. 

It was strange. They’d never minded her being crazy before. 

“You don’t mind, do you Stanley? That they think I’m crazy?”

“Why would I mind?” he asked, nuzzling against her. “After all, I’m crazy, too - crazy in love with my best gal!”

He really was the sweetest, she thought, leaning back against him and watching Sally and the red hotrod drive by again, glancing up at her and back away as he passed.

Their conversation drifted back to her as they went by. 

“It looks so empty, without her there.”

“I know, Stickers. But she’s with Stanley now.”


End file.
